Thats not what I asked you though.....
Ai yi yi.
To answer the question directly I wouldn't jump off a rowboat into a body of water.
But I'm not Coli Hive mind convential wisdom. Just because something can kill you doesn't mean it will kill you. The Jump didn't kill him it just so happened to be a shark nearby. I happen to know due to a previous job that all trash and whatever dudes flush goes staright into the sea which attracts fish which attracts sharks.
Now homie seemed stupid but there's a big chance that all the people on the boat swam in beaches and if you swin on a thrid world beach you're swimming in potentially "shark infested waters" They know which waters are shark infested when they see sharks.
I know for a fact that if you swim at any beach in the DR that it's all you're own risk there's no Rescue teams comming to save you.